Title: Dark Tide Pdf The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
Author: Stephen Puleo
Published Date: 2019-01-15
Narrated with gusto . . . [Puleo's] enthusiasm for a little-known catastrophe is infectious. —The New Yorker"Compelling . . . Puleo has done justice to a gripping historical story."—Ralph Ranalli, Boston Globe"Thoroughly researched . . . weaves together the stories of the people and families affected by the disaster, with often heartbreaking glimpses of their fates . . . The cleanup lasted months, the lawsuits years, the fearful memories a lifetime." —Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press"Giving a human face to tragedy is part of the brilliance of Stephen Puleo's Dark Tide . . . Until they were given voice in this book, the characters who drove the story were forgotten." —Caroline Leavitt, Boston Sunday Globe Stephen Puleo is the author of several books including the Boston Globe bestseller The Boston Italians and the critically acclaimed Boston-area bestseller Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919. A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor to American History magazine, he holds a master’s degree in history and teaches at Suffolk University. He and his wife, Kate, live in the Boston area. Find him online at www.stephenpuleo.com.
Around noon on January 15, 1919, a group of firefighters were playing cards in Boston’s North End when they heard a tremendous crash. It was like roaring surf, one of them said later. Like a runaway two-horse team smashing through a fence, said another. A third firefighter jumped up from his chair to look out a window—“Oh my God!” he shouted to the other men, “Run!” A 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses had just collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents as a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that at its outset traveled at 35 miles an hour. It demolished wooden homes, even the brick fire station. The number of dead wasn’t known for days. It would be years before a landmark court battle determined who was responsible for the disaster.
Fascinating book with incredibly thorough background information and engrossing story-telling We learned tidbits about the "molassacre" from a bus tour guide on our trip to Boston in 2018. He off-handedly recommend this book so I ordered it when we got home. What a fascinating story!I really enjoyed this book. It covers so much, from the history of the molasses trade (including how pivotal it was to slavery in the US), to presidential campaigns of that time, our involvement in WWI, the labor tensions and "Big Business" climate and the anarchist activity (including the trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti). I learned a ton and developed a wider context for the period of time between about 1915 and 1930. It even had some interesting overlap with what I had read recently in the Jungle.There were extensive accounts of personal histories and very detailed backgrounds of the political, geographical and cultural situation of that time, including some fun facts (for example, that Harding was the first US president to arrive at his inauguration in an automobile instead of horse-drawn carriage, and what that signified for the automotive industry). I was fascinated with this background information and thought the author did a phenomenal job with setting the stage and tying together so many different aspects of the story.Puleo is a great writer and I was easily engrossed in the many aspects relating to this event. His witty, compelling and colorful writing turned dry facts into a very engaging, personal narrative about an event that I had never heard of before our trip and demonstrated connections between it and so many other events and perspectives from that time and beyond.I think my favorite part of the book was Part 3, in which the author recounts the details of the court case against the US Industrial Alcohol Company. Using unearthed official court records, he was able to quote extensively from the leading lawyers, witnesses and the auditor of the case, Hugh W. Ogden. It was more interesting than (and often as dramatic as) a Law and Order episode.The author goes into great detail in a "bibliographic essay" in the back of the book about his sources and the dozens of books one could read for more information. His research is very impressive and I really appreciated the effort he took to show where he got his sources and how he applied them.This is a fine example of taking one event and telling its story in such a way that educates the reader on that event plus all kinds of peripheral subjects, fostering an interest in and excitement for learning itself. This book has prompted interest for me in several different areas for further reading and I'm grateful for the author's extremely well-done work!Enlightening in many ways Not only does this book describe one of the most bizarre disasters that occurred, the failure of a hugh tank holding over 2 million gallons of molasses, but it gives a view of Boston and the USA prior to our entry into WWI. Our attitudes toward immigrants, big business, poverty, war, class consciousness and even the rum / molasses / slave trade. A look at the Anarchists and their actions is currently echoed by today's terrorists along with the government's reactions to them. There are other parallels that appear making this past tragedy surprising current. A very worthwhile read that grips you until the end. The author has done fine research, well documented and the bibliography is very interesting. One can see the cycle of no regulations, disaster, new regulations, memories fade regulations removed, and the looming next disaster to start it all again. Puts everything into a framework. Very educational.A Truly Great Book Author Stephen Puleo has done it again. In this book, he has taken a relatively obscure event and told us an incredible story. The historical part is expertly researched by him and full of insight not previously well known. He gives us the historical context of the times when this event took place and more than that, he describes the people victimized in this deadly incident and their life, their passions, their plights. We become one of them.In addition, he focuses on the evil conspirators of the entire incident, the ones dedicated to their quest for money and power and the unwitting spineless co-conspirators.I cannot tell what a page turner this book is and how surprisingly important the entire event became to me as I read it.Puleo never disappoints. His books are so well researched, his stories so intricate and detailed as a result.
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